Rise of the Living Monolith
by shanejayell
Summary: In the ruins of Genosha, where the X-Men and the Avengers faced some of their greatest failures, a old enemy rises once more. But is he the villain they think he is,or is something more complex going on?
1. Zero

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from X-Men or other Marvel Comics, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. This was originally posted as part of my X-Men fanfic 'The Genesis Quest' before I decided to spin it off into it's own fiction.

X-Men: Rise of New Alexandria

Zero

The island nation of Genosha was a mess, but it always had been in Val Cooper's opinion. She sighed as the blond haired federal officer sat back in her office, dubiously eying the report put together by her team at the Office of National Emergency, or ONE.

"So let me get this straight," Val said flatly, "someone is building a city on Genosha?"

"Yes ma'am," Jamie Cassidy nodded, the redheaded young woman one of Val's staff and her latest secretary. Val tended to run through assistants fairly fast, demanding hard work and long hours from her minions.

"What's the United Nations saying?" Val asked, frowning.

"As this Osirus was a citizen of Genosha before the Sentinel attacks, he has every right to build on his own property," Jamie said, checking her notes. "However, we have yet to confirm is Osirus is really who he claims he is."

"And after Magneto got killed, the status of Genosha is up in the air," Val muttered. She tapped a pen on the desk, "Do we know what this Osirus intends to do with Genosha?"

"Not entirely," Jamie admitted. "He's on the record as saying that he intends for Genosha to once more be a haven for mutantkind."

"That's going to make things complicated, with the registry act and all," Val muttered, mostly to herself. In the aftermath of the Stanford disaster, the public demanded more accountability for superhumans, leading to the passing of the Superhuman Registry Act. Mutants, already unhappy with the government's handling of the Decimation, were standing against the Registry.

"Maybe we should just let the mutants go to Genosha?" Jamie offered tentatively.

Val thought about it, "It's tempting, but we have a responsibility to the mutants here in the United States. What is this Osirus is pulling something?"

"That's true," Jamie agreed.

Reviewing the files Val sighed, then shut the file with a snap. "I'll have to go to Genosha," she decided, "I have to see him with my own eyes before we can decide what to do."

"Should I make flight arrangements?" Jamie asked.

"Do it," Val agreed, "and thank you."

Jamie left Val in the office as she went out to her desk and fired up her computer. It took only moments to arrange the plane tickets, then she opened up a unique messenger system. "Cooper is on her way, as requested," she typed.

"Well done," was swiftly answered, "we will be waiting."

Sitting back Jamie felt a pang of guilt over sending her boss to Genosha, then shook her head. Val had accepted the head position at ONE with her eyes open, and this was merely one duty that went with that. Hopefully, things would turn out all right...

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Ms. Marvel frowned as she confrontered her superior in Avengers Tower, the blonde putting one hand on his desk as she demanded, "There's a island offering sanctuary to mutants fleeing the registration act, why aren't we doing anything?"

Tony Stark, also known as the hero Iron Man, looked up at her tiredly as he said, "It's clearly out of our juristiction, Carol."

Ms. Marvel shook her head, "We've chased criminals to Genosha before, Tony."

"Only after they attacked the United States," Tony pointed out reasonably. He sighed, "Besides, we have enough on our plate chasing down the renegades."

The 'renegades' was how Tony referred to Steve Rogers' rebel team of Avengers, who operated against the registration act. Worse many were former friends and comrades of both him and Carol, making fighting them very difficult. But fight them they must, for if Tony's team did not bring them in, SHIELD would be authorized to act with lethal force.

"I don't like it," Carol said flatly, "no way a guy like this Osirus just appears out of nowhere, offering to restore the island. There has got to be a catch."

"I don't deny it," Tony acknowledged honestly, "but there's nothing much we can do. Until he actually breaks the law, we can't act."

"That stinks," Carol growled.

"It does, but that's our job," Tony told her, pointedly adding, "And you have enough to deal with on your own, do don't go digging into this."

"Understood," Carol nodded, turning and striding out of the office. Her anger nearly blinded her as she strode through the team headquarters, the woman ignoring friendly greetings as she went out a upper story window and flew off.

It took a while to fly off her anger, but Carol managed eventually. Returning to her mini-Hellicarrier, the heroine walked to her rooms, her expression thoughtful. Taking out her phone she smiled, 'I may not be allowed to look into this, but there's no reason I can't ask a friend to.'

"Hello?" the polite voice asked gruffly, but with a friendly undertone.

"Hank?" she smiled, "It's Carol. How are you?"

"I've been better," Hank McCoy, aka the Beast, answered her, the blue furred mutant sounding a bit down.

Carol winced, knowing how hard the Civil War had hit the X-Men. "I hate to drop something else on your plate, but there's something I think the X-Men need to know," she told him.

"Lay it on me, as the kids might say," Hank said cheerfully.

"You remember the Living Monolith?" Carol asked.

"We used to tangle with him when we were kids," Hank conceded. "I take it he's back?"

"Yeah, Calling himself Osirus now," Carol confirmed.

"That's a interesting choice of names," Hank conceded thoughtfully, "the Egyptian God who returns from the dead..."

"Anyway, he's on Genosha, and is setting up a base of operations there," Carol said before Hank could get distracted and start rambling. "Just thought the X-Men should know."

"Thank you," Hank said, "I'll pass it on to Emma and Scott, they'll decide what to do."

"Just don't wait too long," Carol cautioned, "I have a bad feeling about this." 

To be continued...


	2. One

X-Men: Rise of New Alexandria

One

The room was bare, the walls plain stone, shaped by human hands into a meditation chamber. The golden sandstone reflected the light from a opening in the roof, letting sunlight shine down and bathe the room in it's glow. In a band around the room were pictograms etched in the stone, resembling those of ancient Egypt.

Standing in the centre of the chamber the tall, bald man was bathed in the stellar radiation, his arms extended out slightly and palms turned up. He wore simple white robes, only marked with a golden clasp and a wide necklace of gold, each designed in the Egyptian style. His eyebrows and beard were deep black and his skin tanned, though there was a odd hint of gray in his skin.

Without warning the wall of the chamber blew inward, as if struck by a mighty fist, and a group of figures appeared in the dust. "Surrender, Living Pharaoh!" Cyclops yelled, his hand on the firing stud of his thin gold visor.

"Never," he answered, turning to face them as he identified his foes.

Cyclops, as usual, lead the X-Men as the others fanned out beside him. Angel was aloft, his white wings shining, while the Beast clambered over the rubble with inhuman agility. Beside Cyclops was Marvel Girl, the green and red clad telekinetic sticking close to him, while Iceman stood ready to cast his subzero attacks. Nearby Havok and Polaris took up the rear, the plasma caster and magnetic heroine ever slightly reluctant to do battle.

"Beast, Angel!" Cyclops ordered even as he fired off a optic blast as a distraction, "Use maneuver Epsilon!"

With surprising ease the man blocked the bolt with his stone-like palm, the energy deflecting sideways. But as he was occupied Angel ferried the Beast up to the top of the chamber then tossed him down, right towards their adversary.

"This will inevitably be a smashing impact!" the Beast quipped.

With inhuman speed the Egyptian snatched the Beast from the air, grabbing him on both sides of his barrel like chest. Bones crunched loudly as he brought his hands together, then he cast the bleeding body aside as he simply said, "Next."

"Hank!" Angel cried out in alarm as he dove in at maximum speed with botrh fists clenched, actually managing to drive their foe backwards. However he recovered quickly enough, bringing his hands together to strike a crushing blow to Angel's back, breaking it with a wet snap.

Havok jerked forward, eyes wide with shock as he yelled, "NO!" With a gesture raw cosmic power flowed across the room contained in the focusing waves that were Havok's power, but their foe seemed to simply soak it up.

"Jean, throw him off balance!" Cyclops yelled as he and Iceman poured on their attacks, but he seemed to shrug them all off.

Charging forward the man punched Polaris in the head, his fist emerging from the back side of her skull to splatter the wall with her brains. Havok screamed as he cut loose again, but a swift kick to his solar plexus shut him up, not to mention crippling him.

"Fuck this!" Iceman yelped, turning around and running back out the hole.

Marvel Girl floated up, illusionary fires dancing around her body as she intoned, "I am power and life incarnate, I am..."

"Pitiful bluff," he scoffed as he strode through the fire and blasted her down, even as Cyclops came around behind him, firing away with his optic blast.

"As long as I live," Cyclops yelled furiously as he unleashed his full power optic blasts onto their foe, "the X-Men will never die!"

Shrugging off the concussive energy the man grabbed Cyclops by the throat, choking off any more heroic speeches. "Then you need to stop living," he growled, his grip tightening and breaking Cyclops' neck with a wet snap.

There was a beat of silence, then applause as a redheaded man in a bad suit and bow tie came out of the wall, clapping. "Damn that was cool," Arcade said cheerfully, "and you beat your last time by fifteen seconds."

"What happened to the Iceman?" the man once known as both Ahmet Abdol, the Living Pharoh and the Living Monolith asked curiously.

"My people shot him, Osiris," Arcade shrugged casually as he explained, "he was paid to do a job, and he didn't do it."

"The original X-Men have ceased to be a challenge to me," Osiris admitted as he toweled away the sweat as well as blood and oil from the cyborgs he had just slaughtered in battle, "how soon can you have a new squad ready?"

"Which team?" Arcade asked.

As the head of Murderworld Arcade was a genius in robotics and in replicating superpowers, using traps and killer androids to kill his victims. He usually hired out his services as a assassin, but when Osiris said he wanted to fight X-Men androids programmed to kill him, Arcade was perfectly willing to go along.

"The second," Osiris concluded as he stripped off his fouled clothes and pulled on a clean robe and sandals, "I might as well work through them in order."

"Cyclops," Arcade checked them off, "Banshee, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, Thunderbird and Wolverine? Can do, shouldn't be more than a week."

"Good," Osiris nodded seriously, "and do not tell me when you send them out to get me." He smiled faintly, "I want it to be a surprise."

"I like you better and better," Arcade grinned, trotting out of the room as his tech teams moved in to carry out the corpses.

Osiris put his hand on one worker's shoulder as he said, "Treat the bodies with respect. They volunteered for this, to let me test myself against real opponents."

"And the fake Iceman?" the man asked curiously.

"His cowardice overwhelmed him," Osiris answered, "you can do with him what you will."

He bowed slightly, "As you wish."

A few moments later his head lieutenant entered the chamber, her long black hair flowing over her shoulders. "Lord Osiris," the olive skinned woman said mildly, "how do you stand that man? He is utterly disrespectful to you."

"Arcade tried to pat your ass again?" Osiris guessed, smiling fondly at the young woman.

"Indeed," Horus said flatly.

"He is useful to me, Horus," Osiris told her, "and for that I will bear much." He smiled wryly as he added, "I'll talk to him about the ass grabbing."

Once Horus has been a teenager named Akasha Martinez, whom the Living Monolith had influenced with his cosmic powers. Her mind clouded she became a supervillain and enemy of Spider Man, until the hero managed to cut her off from his energies. When he fully returned the young woman had sought him out, and he had welcomed her into his service.

Together they walked out of the meditation chamber into a much more modern facility, gleaming steel walls and polished floors stretching out into the distance. Out the windows a blasted, damaged landscape was visible, but nearer to the building green grass, trees and flowers were beginning to take hold once more.

"Teams have finished demolishing Hammer Bay, clearing rubble left after the Sentinel attack. We're picking up the pace in terraforming irradiated areas of Genosha, though it's rough going," Horus told him.

"And the survivors?" Osiris asked as he looked out over the ruined island.

"Few and far between," Horus admitted. "We've had several former criminals arrive after the disaster, such as Unus and Callisto. We've recruited some and encouraged others to go."

"Good work," Osiris said as they reached the observation deck of his headquarters, the largest building in the city of New Alexandria.

New Alexandria was a modern city, yet it carried traces of the Mideast. The decorations, especially, reminded one of both Egypt and Rome, and it shone like the sun on the shore. Carefully laid out and planned it was a city intended for the future, fitting since it's population was to be mutants and progressive humans.

"Leave me," Osiris ordered her as he gracefully sat on the chair by the edge, looking out at the city, "I need to think."

"Of course, sir," Horus bowed and left.

Osiris looked out over the city, considering how he came to be here...

Once he had been a simple professor, a researcher who believed the Pharaohs were mutants. Reviled and attacked for his belief his own latent mutant power awoke, cosmic energy bolts killing his tormentors but not soon enough to save his wife.

Discovered by a Egyptian cult he became the Living Pharaoh, seeking to bring back the rule of ancient kings. Learning of a connection between his own powers and the hero Havok he kidnapped the boy, triggering his transformation into the Living Monolith. Again and again he sought power and he was repeatedly defeated, his final lost ending with him exiled into space.

There he was found by servants of the high lord Apocalypse, who needed his unique powers. Apocalypse plotted to seize the combined powers of twelve mighty mutants to become the most powerful entity on Earth, and he nearly succeeded too. In the course of that battle he himself was possessed by Apocalypse.. and it was a frightening revelation.

Before, he had known that innocents would die for his cause, and he had been prepared to do what he must. But in Apocalypse he saw something much darker, seeped in evil. Sharing one body he saw the vision of the future Apocalypse wanted, a horror show. Endless war from all over the Earth, unimaginable slaughter as men fought against each other, simply to winnow out the weak and promote the strong, only so that Apocalypse could consume the winners.

When Apocalypse's scheme fell apart and he fled his body, the surviving servants of the Living Pharaoh helped spirit him away. As he healed from the violation of his body and spirit he took the name Osiris, and with it a new path. Instead of wasting time fighting needless battles for power, he dedicated himself to foiling Apocalypse's designs, and guiding his kind, mutants, and humans to a better future.

'And this is where I begin.' Osiris thought, gazing at his city with pride.

When wild Sentinels had attacked Genosha, they devestated the hubs of mutant occupation like Hammer Bay. But here, humans and mutants had fought side by side with weapons provided by their allies, and the Sentinels did not know what to do. That confusion coupled with Osiris' own powers were enough for them to win the day, saving the city and making it a beacon of hope in this ruined land.

As Osirus look out over the city he thought of what might happen, of the X-Men and other heroic teams. That they would come to oppose him he was certain, but what he would do was harder to say. Revenge was sweet, some said, but for him it never lasted.

'Maybe this time it can be different,' Osirus thought, even though he knew it wasn't likely.

To be continued...

Notes: I've always felt the Living Pharaoh had the potential to be a real contender in villainy. He has cosmic energy powers, a army of cultists all over the world, immense wealth and science fiction style weaponry. Yet every time he appeared he got his ass whipped, often by the X-Men but occasionally by much weaker heroes like Spider-Man. In this story I've powered him up a bit by having him access his higher order power to become stone at normal size as well as use cosmic energy more easily.


	3. Two

Rise of the Living Monolith

Two

Eric Savin, the cyborg known as Coldblood 7, leaned carefully on the railing of the ferry as he watched the port at Hammer Bay grow in front of him. The city had been gutted by the Sentinels, but now the people of Genosha were rebuilding it.

Eric's brown hair fell in front of his cybernetic right eye, and he raised his artificial right arm to brush the hair away. He had lost much of the right side of his body to a land mine, and a lot of what was left of him was gutted in the rebuilding process. Much of his memory was recorded on his internal computers rather than his brain, and his past was full of holes.

'Much like the Bay,' Eric noted thoughtfully.

There were great swaths of destruction were Sentinel energy blasts had gouged the ground, and the buildings were gutted and burnt. Hammer Bay had born the worse of the attack, and despite being the main entry way to Genosha it was still mostly ruin and rubble. Still,someone had rebuilt a basic looking dock, and what looked like a decent road stretched inland.

Around him men and women milled about on the boat, many of them on the run from the superhuman Civil War. People who's only sin had been to put on costumes and help people, now on the run from their government and hunted by their supposed comrades. None of them were in costume, but it wasn't hard to recognize the sort of looks your average hero or villain developed.

Casually checking them out her recognized the former villain Firebrand, as well as Leila Davis, the second Beetle. Free Spirit was off on her own, the young woman looking haunted. Her friend Jack Flag had been arrested recently by the Thunderbolts, he figured that wasn't sitting well with her. A heavily, heavily muscled man over to the far end of the boat made Eric think of a soldier, but who he was remained a mystery.

The boat bumped up against the dock and a sailor threw a rope to tie up with. A ramp was extended to the wooden dock, and the passengers hurried to the wooden planks, even as a figure waited to greet them.

"My name is Sister Joy," the woman in a nun's habit nodded to them respectfully, "please, follow me. We have transport waiting to the encampment."

"Sister," Eric nodded as he and the others followed her to the truck. As he watched her he realized there was something off about the woman, not coiunting her blue skin. She moved jerkilly, and there was a odd sheen to her eyes, almost a metal like quality.

"I apologize for the rough transport," Joy said as they sat in the improvised benches along the back of the freight truck, "but we still have limited resources."

"I guess there's still a embargo," the soldier asked, putting his pack in his lap.

"There is, Mr. McIntyre," Joy addressed him politely, "of it you would prefer, I can call you my your codename, Protocide."

The man flinched slightly, "Just call me Clinton, please."

Eric recognized him once he heard the name, and studied the man intently. The man had been given a experimental version of Captain America's super soldier serum, but apparently 'died' of a heart attack. Put in cryogenic storage he was revived by Advanced Idea Mechanics, who convinced him to fight Captain America. He eventually came to his senses and disappeared.

'Guess he's been underground,' Eric decided.

The truck went inland, the road a bit bumpy but not as bad as they had expected. The ruins around them were bad, but there was also signs of ongoing salvage and repair. At one time Genosha had been one of the most advanced nations on Earth, and even in ruins there was a lot of tech to recover from the rubble.

"I understand that Genosha is offering sanctuary for people fleeing the Registration Act," Free Spirit asked, "but what do you want in return?"

"Simply that you contribute to our country," Joy answered simply, smiling. "You can help rebuild, gather salvage, build shelters or any number of jobs we need people to do."

"Or become soldiers," Eric noted cynically.

"Only if you chose to," Joy insisted, looking at him. "We are salvaging computer systems daily, I'm certain your abilities would be useful in repairing them."

Eric nodded slightly as he conceded, "Okay, true."

They rattled to a stop near a professionally set up tent city, built on a plane not fat from where the proposed new capital was going to be. There were men and women bustling about, as well as what looked like kitchen tents and well constructed sanitary facilities.

"What, no buildings?" Leila Davis sniffed, the brown haired woman looking displeased.

Clinton gave her a look. "We're refugees from our own government," he told her calmly, "be happy they're putting us up at all."

Leila pouted and looked away.

Joy hid a smile, then said, "I am sorry for the accomidations. We are building barracks soon, and hope to have residences available soon."

"It's fine," Free Spirit said, the young woman trotting over to the field kitchen.

As the rest of the men and women were met by attendants and were lead off to various tents, Eric moved over to Sister Joy. "Sister?" he asked.

Joy turned, much of her face still hidden by the cloth of her robes. "Yes?" she asked politely.

Eric wasn't sure how to politely bring up what his internal scanners were detecting, so he decided to be blunt. "You're not quite human, are you?" he asked.

Joy stiffened, then relaxed as she sighed softly. Her cassock was pulled back, revealing blue skin, and near her neck and chin it had a odd metallic sheen. "I suppose you would notice," she sighed. "I'm a nanotechnological life form, more or less," she said.

"How...?" Eric had to ask.

"I was created to fight the X-Men some years ago, then destroyed," Joy shrugged, "some time later magneto found traces of me and successfully reactivated me. I've been living on Genosha ever since."

"Must be tough," Eric offered lamely.

"No more than any others' burdens," Joy answered calmly. She bowed her head and said calmly, "I have to go." And with that she was off, moving with a serenity that Eric almost envied.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Osirus was meditating in his solar chamber when he felt the faint rumble. Rising smoothly he slung on a robe as he hurried down the hall, reaching the balcony overlooking the new city. There was a crackle and a wave of air as the second group teleported in, the armored figures spreading out to attack.

"Magistrates," Osirus growled softly even as he ran towards them.

The Magistrates were once the enforcers for Genosha, when humans used mutant slaves to live a life of ease. When a rebellion forced the government out the hard-core Magistrates fled with their equipment and technology, determined to restore human rule once more.

Osirus slowed as he neared them, dressed just in his loincloth and robes, then surprisingly he bowed slightly. "Welcome, Magistrates, have you decided to return peacefully to your former lands?" he asked politely.

One of the soldiers scoffed, all the men wearing heavy armor and carrying massive guns, presumably designed to deal with mutants. "Never, mutie," he said flatly, "we're here to take back what is ours!"

"You're the leader aren't you?" a blond haired woman growled. "We hold you, we can force the gene scum to give us what we want."

"That would be a very bad idea," Osirus told them even as he saw the cover to a sewer access bump up slightly. "Are you sure you won't try things peacefully?" he urged, knowing what was coming for them.

"Get off our land," the leading Magistrate ordered him coldly, "that's the only way this is ending peacefully."

"So be it," Osirus said as the manhole cover suddenly errupted upward, seemingly filled with green tentacles.

"What the hell?" the woman yelped as her weapon was yanked away from her, her gun hitting the ground as another tentacle wrapped around her throat.

As the Magistrates scattered away from the writhing mass Osirus attacked, firing off a bolt of energy and disarming another. As they turned to him he willed his body into stone form, then calmly ripped the armor off another soldier.

Callisto emerged from the tunnel, the tentacles extending from her soldiers from where the mad mutant Masque had reshaped her. The black haired woman snarled as she whipped another soldier back and disarmed a third man.

"Well done, Cal," Osirus grinned as he blasted another sopldier even as the rest cowered, afraid of what he or Callisto might do with them.

"I should have responded faster," Callisto said flatly, frowning as she studied their captives. "A security team is coming, though I wonder what they were doing here."

"Too small a group for a serious raid," Osirus agreed as they looked over the ten troopers, "and they would have attacked me immediately if it was a assassination attempt."

The security team, mostly volunteers or ex-miners with enhanced strength, rounded up the Magistrates as the two watched. "So what was it...?" Callisto mused just as a explosion rang out.

"Distraction!" Osirus cursed as he and Callisto hurried towards the direction of the blast, the camp for the newcomers. They ran as fast as they could, knowing they probably wouldn't make it in time. They rushed up the hill between the city and the camp, then blinked in surprise to see a group of defeated Magistrates and medics rushing around to treat the wounded.

"Well, that was anticlimatic," Callisto noted as they slowed to a trot, walking down into the somewhat chaotic camp.

"Lord Orirus," Sister Joy nodded slightly, the blue skinned woman tending to the burns along a tall, powerfully build man's arm.

"What happened?" Osirus asked, though he rather thought he could guess.

"The Magistrates attempted to attack the camp, but Clinton here and Eric were able to stop them quite effectively," Joy said, nodding towards a cyborg who was looming threateningly over the now badly cowed attackers.

"How did you get hurt?" Callisto asked Clinton curiously.

The former soldier looked rueful as Clinton admitted, "I forgot I didn't have my shield when I charged 'em, took a few extra hits."

"We'll see what we can rig up for you," Callisto offered, impressed.

'Well, it looks like my decision to offer refuge may have been a wise one after all,' Osirus thought, liking the look of both warriors. He felt confident they'd defend their new home, anyway.

To be continued...

Notes: Protocide was a minor Captain America villain, created to be a 'evil Cap' more or less. He was later revealed to be misunderstood, and hasn't been used since as far as I know. Coldblood Seven was introduced in Marvel Comics Present back in the day, and became a minor marvel character, showing up in other series.


	4. Three

Rise of the Living Monolith

Three

Valerie Cooper sat back in the charter plane, studying files as they raced to Genosha. The blond haired woman hated being away from the States, especially with the Civil War heating up. The 'Secret Avengers' headed up by Captain America were refusing to register, and Iron Man was attempting to hunt him down.

Worse for Val was that mutants, her unofficial area of responsibility, were getting involved. The mysterious and powerful mutant Cable had chosen to side with Cap, while Bishop was working with the registration forces. Both men were dangerous, but what really worried her was them pulling their various camps into the war.

But her primary responsibilities were to the government, and she had been ordered to check out Genosha. So Val was flying down, even as she reviewed briefings and got a better sense of the possible crisis there. Apparently Osirus had extended his offer of sanctuary to any superhuman on the run from the registry, which made things even more complex.

'At least I have a good team with me,' Val noted as she looked at the other three figures in the large main cabin.

Hank McCoy aka the Beast was there as a representative of the X-Men. The blue furred scientific genius might resemble a giant cat, but his mind was second to none. And he had experience facing the Living Monolith before, too. Privately Val suspected he might have other reasons to go too, but she didn't press.

Rebecca Black (presumably not her real name) was a SHIELD psi-agent. The black haired woman was born with mild esper talents, and SHIELD had used implants to enhance the abilities. Now she had moderate telepathic abilities along with a telekinetic force burst. She was posing as Val's secretary, and looked quite handsome in the woman's suit she wore.

Val's official body guard was a odd choice in her opinion, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Jack Monroe, the hero once known as Nomad, was looking sharp dressed in a off the rack suit. The brown haired man had been 'killed' earlier this year by the Winter Soldier, but had been saved by a medical miracle. Nanites that had once been used to control him somehow 'jump started' him back to life, and he had been recruited into government service.

And he wasn't happy about it.

"If I knew faking my death would be this boring," Jack complained cheerfully, "I never would have gone along with it."

"You shouldn't talk about it so casually," Rebecca scolded.

"If you can't laugh about your near death,' Hank shrugged, "what can you laugh at?" He looked over at Val, "I understand there's a new complication to our mission?"

"Yes," Val admitted with a frown. "Osirus has extended his invitation to anyone fleeing the Registry, mutant or non-mutant," she said.

"And I take it our lords and masters aren't happy?" Jack asked flippantly.

Rebecca scowled at him, the officer looking straight laced and formal even in her dress skirt. "This will badly undermine the attempt to register superhumans," she said flatly, "and such open defiance will hurt the US internationally."

"Well, to a extent," Hank cautioned, using his paw-like hands to flip through a magazine, "the UK and the European Union are still firmly behind a similar Registry. But smaller nations are now less likely to fall in line."

"Like Wakanda," Val sighed darkly. The Black Panther and his wife Storm had publicaly come out against the Registry, and worse had fought Iron Man over it. It was a nightmare for the various diplomats, and had likely damaged relations with the advanced nation for years.

"So, are there any major players we have to worry about being in Genosha when we're there?" Jack asked reasonably.

"Several," Val sighed, tapping the folders on her lap. "Coldblood Seven has been sighted on the island, as has the false Captain America, Protocide. The cyborg Deathlok has also been rumored to be on the island, but that hasn't been confirmed."

Rebecca blinked, "Protocide... I've heard of him, Clinton McIntyre. And he has the Super Soldier Serum in his veins, right? Why wasn't he in government custody before now?"

"Captain America lost him in their final battle," Val said dryly, "though to be honest I don't think he looked too hard."

"Oh?" Hank asked.

Jack nodded thoughtfully as he remarked, "Yeah, I could see it. Clinton's a man out of time like himself and all."

"Either way having him there complicates a already difficult situation," Val sighed. "If he's taken by a hostile nation they could use him to try to create super soldiers."

"Is there a sanction order?" Rebecca asked flatly.

"Wait just a minute...," Hank yelped, sitting up from where he was relaxing.

"You are not killing a guy just because he could be used by the enemy," Jack was nearly as fast, his expression bleak.

"There is no sanction order," Val said firmly, "nor will there be under my watch." Rebecca looked abashed, while Jack and Hank relaxed a bit. "But one of my jobs appears to be making sure McIntyre's secure where he is."

"Secure?" Rebecca wondered.

"Is he safe there from a snatch and grab from another nation," Jack mused, "and I'll bet we'll be checking to see if the US can grab him too. For national security, of course."

"You're too young to be that cynical," Val told Jack dryly, even though she rather suspected that he was right. 

The airport wasn't far from Hammer Bay, and pretty much amounted to a roughly cleared strip of land. Most travel to and from Genosha was by boat from nearby nations, so there hadn't been much urgency to rebuilding the airport. And to be honest it looked like they could use the valuable resources elsewhere.

Val had seen footage of the sentinel attack on Genosha, but this was her first visit to the nation since then. Once Genosha had been the bright light of the region, a industrial powerhouse as well as appearing cultured and refined. Even after Magneto took over the island maintained much of it's gloss, even as mutants flooded in from all over the world.

The sentinels had destroyed all that. Now rubble and wreckage stretched as far as Val could see, roads roughly cut through debris. The survivors lived in the wreckage or in newly build tent cities, trying to build something new in the ruins. But despite all the destruction there was a air of hope. The people digging through wrecked buildings looked happy, and on her overflight of the island she was crops growing and herds moving.

A attractive young woman waited by the landing strip, her long black hair flowing down her back. She was accompanied by a woman with clusters of tentacles for arms, her expression clearly unwelcoming of the three arrivals.

"Val Cooper," the younger woman smiled, "I am Horus. Welcome to Genosha."

"Callisto," the other woman introduced herself flatly. A slight smile teased her lips as she said, "Good to see you, McCoy."

"Indeed, I was glad to hear you survived," Hank shook her offered tentacle briskly.

Val felt a tickle at the back of her brain, and realized Rebecca was contacting her telepathically. 'This Horus is Akasha Martinez,' she informed her, 'minor villain obsessed with the Pharaoh. Dropped out of sight after fighting Spider-Man.'

'Thanks,' Val thought back to her. "Long way from home, Miss Martinez?" she asked, shaking Horus' hand.

"This is my home now," Horus answered evenly. "Come, I will escort you to our first major settlement, New Alexandria."

"Thank you," Val said, mildly disappointed she hadn't thrown the younger woman off.

"So, who the hell are you?" Callisto asked Jack bluntly.

"Jack," he answered her with a smile, "no last name. I do leg breaking, intimidation and occasional daring do. But I don't do windows."

That inspired a slight smile from Callisto, and Horus looked amused. "And this is my secretary, Rebecca," Val introduced her to save time and establish her cover.

"Come," Horus said as she lead them away from the plane, "we have transport waiting."

The battered,open top jeep wasn't an idea transport, but Val decided not to complain. It was certainly better than walking. They followed the road through the rubble as they saw people industriously picking over the wreckage, then they came around a hill and saw 'New Alexandria.' Built inland from Hammer Bay there was the rough layout of a midsized city, with much new construction spreading out from a pyramid like structure at the center of the city.

"I see you're building quickly," Val noted as they passed several partly completed structures, the design making her think of apartments.

"Well, we did have a influx of recent arrivals," Horus smiled slightly as she watched Callisto drive. "They're good workers too, and very eager to settle in here."

Jack snickered while Val and Rebecca glared at him. Clearly he got the point Horus was making, and neither woman liked it. Frowning Val saw the tent city nearby the new construction, as well as the men and women there.

"Is it really safe for them to be out in the open like that?" Val asked.

"The tents are better than the Morlock Tunnels were," Callisto said dryly, "And safe? Just try to mess with them, and they'll kick your ass like they did those Magistrates who attacked us."

"The Magistrates are acting up again?" Hank asked, clearly enjoying the wind blowing through his blue hair.

"They show up every now and then and we beat the crap out of them," Callisto shrugged. "We get decent weapons out of it, at least."

Hank nodded, "I'm glad you find the silver lining in these situations."

As they drove through the new construction the road improved, becoming paved blacktop. The nearer to the Pyramid they got the more construction was completed, as well as more shops and businesses. New Alexandria reminded Val of a frontier town, almost, but with a higher technical base available.

They pulled up to a gatehouse not far from the pyramid, where Horus parked. The attractive young woman got out as she said, "We walk from here."

"Really?" Jack looked around him warily, as did Rebecca. Hank just calmly hopped out of the jeep, stretching out.

"Ah, that's better," Hank sighed.

"Cramped in the jeep?" a familiar voice came from the gatehouse.

Hank froze, then looked at the man inside. "It's been a long time, Ahmet Abdol," he nodded to the bald man within.

Tanned and healthy Ahmet, known to most as Osirus, emerged with a smile. "I'm sorry for sneaking up on you," he bowed slightly, "It is a honor, Val Cooper. I'm sure we have much to talk about."

To be continued...


	5. Four

Rise of the Living Monolith

Four

While the outside of the Pyramid looked like it was made of polished stone, the inside hummed with advanced technology. Metal walls had communication stations with keyboards and IO plugs, and the floors gleamed. The halls were also bustling with people dressed in crisp uniforms, looking rather military in design.

"Your cultists?" Val asked dryly as they followed the former Living Pharoh, now simply calling himself Osirus.

"I prefer to call them followers," Osirus said mildly, "and they are all residents of the island as well. Many have brought technical skills and experience to rebuilding the island."

"And cultists is rather rude, I think," Horus noted wryly.

"Heavens forbid we be rude," Hank McCoy noted.

Jack bit back a laugh as Rebecca rolled her eyes. In her role as secretary she was keeping her mobile device handy, and covertly taking photos of everything. Just in case.

Val ignored the byplay, though she did smile a bit. "I understand the pyramid was built before the Sentinel attacks?" she asked probingly.

"Yes," Osirus nodded slightly, "I defended the building and anyone who reached it." His eyes were shadowed as he added, "There was little else I could do, however."

Rebecca made a note to see if footage survived of the attack. There was little information about Ahmet Abdol's current power levels. All they knew was that he had fought the X-Men, the Avengers and others, allied with Apocolypse then disappeared. Then he reappeared in Genosha, just n time to survive the Sentinel attack.

"The Pyramid is the primary headquarters for our city government," Osirus noted, "such as it is. We're mostly concentrating on getting basic utilities up in the city, as well as organizing salvage and construction efforts."

Jack kept a wary eye out, but didn't like the looks of how many people were armed. Almost everyone wore side arms, and if there was trouble he was gonna be at a disadvantage. Not much of a disadvantage, considering he had been trained by Captain America, but it could get messy. Especially with him guarding Val too.

"What's with all the guns?" Jack asked Horus curiously. "One would think you don't feel safe around here."

Horus gave him a disdainful look. "As I told you, the magistrates have attacked several times. And not all of our people have powers to defend themselves with," she said.

'Not all,' Val mentally noted. So at least some of the cultists did have powers? That was a worrying development, if so.

Osirus turned to look at the Beast as he asked, "I understand that you are working to cure the M-Day effect?"

Hank McCoy frowned slightly, but the biochemist knew that Osrus could have easily guessed that. No inside information was needed. "I am," he conceded as they turned a corner and reached what looked like a lab door.

"So are we," Osirus said as the door swished open and they stepped through, "though in a somewhat more unconventional way."

The lab looked like something out of a modern movie, with glass and steel tables, soothing music and a slightly antiseptic smell. A small, slightly unobtrusive man sat at a bench, his brown hair falling into his eyes as he talked to a lab tech. The only unusual thing about him was the facial scars, almost looking like lightning bolts etched into his cheeks and forehead.

Val Cooper recognized him instantly and stiffened in alarm. "That's Molecule Man," she hissed softly, recognizing him off wanted posters.

"No, that is Owen Reese," Horus corrected the other woman frostilly, "he does not use that other name any longer."

"Come," Osirus lead them outside once again, "let's not disturb them."

Hank frowned up at Osirus, "What does this have to do with mutants losing their powers?"

"As we are both aware, the power loss of much of the world's mutants was triggered by the Scarlet Witch losing control of her powers," Osirus said briskly.

Val very nearly stumbled as they were walking. That was very tightly held information, only the Avengers, the X-Men and the government knew about it. How had he discovered what had happened? It implied a serious security breech, at the very least.

"So you think you can use this Owen guy to fix it?" Jack sounded skeptical, "How?"

"His powers are no where near the scale Scarlet Witch opperated on, but her normal power levels were not that great either," Horus said. "We hope to amplify his abilities with the help of volunteer telepaths and superhumans, and in the process use them to restore the world's mutants."

"And remove his own powers, as he has requested," Osirus added.

Rebecca looked at him in surprise. "Is that true?" she asked.

"Consider his history," Osirus mused as they reached a set of stairs and began to climb, "except for a short period he attempted to be a villain, his powers have brought him nothing but misery. He's lost his freedom, his life and his lover at different times." He shrugged, "No wonder he wants them gone."

Jack warily looked around as they entered a open meeting room, with a long table and chairs, along with a pitcher of water. Sunlight streamed in through a glass roof, or possibly was channelled in somehow. It was comfortable but not hot, and several women were waiting presumably to take orders.

"You realize having Owen here will alarm the world powers?" Val asked coolly as they were waved to seats at the table.

"They're already alarmed just by my being here," Osirus said dryly. He shrugged slightly, "Owen is here of his own free will, and we do not have a extradition treaty with the United States. And taking him by force will be... problematic."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Eric Saven was actually humming to himself as he and a group of strength modified Genoshans hauled up a piece of wrecked computer. The salvage had been pretty good in this section of the ruined city of Hammer Bay, and the rewards would be good for them all.

"Good job, Ester," Eric nodded to the tall, bald headed miner who's team he had joined.

"You managed to keep up this time," Ester teased, her muscles rippling. She wiped some sweat from her brow as they looked at the nearly seven foot tall chunk of computer core and asked, "Any idea what's it for?"

Eric shrugged, "No idea. I could try to bring it online, but..."

"Hell no," Dan Wisner said, shuddering. Last week they had recovered a piece of tech that was from a Sentinel, and it took over nearby machines trying to kill them. If not for a fast response from the security teams, they'd have been killed.

"No, I think we'll leave it to the experts," Eric agreed.

Ester nodded to the rest of the team, "The salvage claim for this is gonna cover meals a few days. Take five everyone."

The rest of their six member team scattered, then Ester and Eric hefted the unit and carried it off, Dan scouting ahead. The smaller man was dating Ester, but he was also a engineering student before his mutant power manifested. He often figured out the best methods of prying the salvage they wanted lose, saving time and effort

The teams at the salvage depot were damn impressed with the computer piece, and aid top dollar in credits. They divided it up by six and Eric took his share and headed off, even as Ester and Dan headed off to pay the rest of the team.

Eric turned back a moment, feeling a pang of envy. Ester was quite a woman, he figured. As he watched Dan's mutant power kicked in and he shifted, form blurring, then a attractive woman walked beside Ester in Dan's place, Dustine. Not the most useful power in the world, but apparently it made Ester happy.

With a sigh Eric headed to his home, then he would decide what to do for the night. The tent city the refugees had been living out of was still there, but he and the others from their wave had been moved into barracks. They were nicely constructed, warm and even somewhat private, with curtains that could be closed around each sleeping cubicle. It wasn't exactly homey, but it would do.

"Hey!" Free Spirit waved as Eric left the barracks dressed in something cleaner than the overalls he wore for salvage work. Cathy Webster was very into the whole 'Captain America' thing with her red, white and blue tights, which was kind of ironic considering she was a American exile.

"Hey Cathy," Eric nodded as they headed to the mess hall, "what's new?"

"Did you hear? There's US government types on the island!" Cathy told him excitedly. "Do you think they're here to take us back?"

'Probably not you, at least,' Eric thought wryly. "No, I don't think so," he said as they got into line, "a few rogue supers aren't enough to go to war over."

"War?" Sister Joy asked, the metal skinned woman helping serve food at the counter. She was a nice lady, in Eric's opinion, even if she was a android. Or something.

"If America tries to take us away by force," Eric clarified to her. "I don't think it's likely, considering the international mess it would cause."

"Very true," Joy noted as she dished up their food. "Wakanda would immediately file a complaint with the UN, as would Russia I think."

"You're well informed," Cathy noted, sounding impressed.

Joy just shrugged slightly. "Enjoy your meal," she said, waving as the next group came up.

Eric and Cathy sat down at one of the tables, talking quietly as they ate. He liked keeping company with women, even though the cyborg body he was in made having any kind of relationship with one pretty unlikely. Still, as attractive as Cathy was, and she was good looking with a lovely face and great figure, there was something unappealing about her.

"Why can't we at least get more TV here?" Cathy sighed as she ate, "I miss Survivor!"

She was just too shallow. "Yeah," Eric agreed dryly, "it's tough."

Cathy clearly caught something in his tone because she gave him a odd look. "Are you going into New Alexandria later?" she asked curiously.

"Probably," Eric admitted, "the new library is supposed to be one of the best in the world." He looked at her wryly as he added, "Maybe you can download Survivor there."

"I never thought of that!" Cathy exclaimed brightly. "What a great idea. Thanks!" she beamed at him cheerfully.

'Oy,' Eric thought.

To be continued...

Notes: Yes, I loathe Survivor and reality TV. Dan Wisner is a real life friend, but no resemblance exists between the fictional character and the real life guy. I think.


	6. Five

Rise of the Living Monolith

Four

Tony Stark was tired looking, the armored avenger known as Iron Man slouched in his chair. The current head of the registration forces he was bearing a lot of responsibility, and Val felt bad dumping anything else on him, but he needed to know.

"They have Owen Reese there?" Tony asked, alarmed, sitting up while dressed in his form fitting red and gold armor, the helm sitting beside him.

Val Cooper nodded, the attractive blond sitting in front of the communications center. "Agent Black got some photos, I'm uploading them now," she said.

Reed Richards and Hank Pym were also on a split screen view, the three men the minds behind the Registration program. All three men were geniuses, though in different areas: Reed was a theoretical scientist, Hank a biologist and molecular scientist while Tony was more into practical applications of technology.

All three confirmed his identity, then Reed frowned slightly as he said, "While I wouldn't say don't worry, I wouldn't be that alarmed." He sat back, "In our encounters with Owen he has mostly wished to be left alone."

Hank Pym frowned as he said, "But can we trust the Monolith with the power that Owen represents?" He looked at Val, "Are you certain that's what they're planning?"

"He claims that he wants to use Reese to undo the M-day event, yes," Val answered. She looked at all three scientists as she asked, "CAN they do it?"

Hank and Reed looked at each other, while Tony just shrugged. "Damn if I know," he admitted. He looked over at Reed, "You've studied him the most?"

"Yes," Reed conceded. He sat back with a thoughtful look as he said, "The power Owen has was derived from a attempt to create a cosmic cube, so in theory he could do it. However, he has had crippling psychological blocks on his powers, including a inability to change organic matter, and I do not know if he could overcome them."

Val nodded grimly, digesting the information. It was about what she expected, if with a few wrinkles added. "Thanks gentlemen," she said, "I'll keep in touch."

The jet was quiet as Val shut off the scrambled satellite uplink and sat back tiredly. She had already informed her superiors in Washington, most of whom didn't understand the situation enough to panic. Only the current head of SHIELD, Maria Hill, seemed to get how serious the situation was, though her suggestion of bombing the island might be excessive.

Val got up from the communication room, walking back through the cabin and out to the staircase leading out of the plane. As she emerged Rebecca Black fell into step beside her, the SHIELD psi-agent keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.

"How did the search for Protocide go?" Val asked her briskly, still not entirely comfortable with the young woman.

"Clinton McIntyre is apparently with the city guards," Rebecca confirmed calmly as they went out to the rough airfield, "Jack found him quite quickly."

Val nodded slightly then asked, "What's his security status? Are we going to have to recommend the US stage a abduction?"

"I feel he's quite secure, ma'am," Rebecca admitted somewhat reluctantly. She clearly wanted a excuse to snatch and grab the man for SHIELD, and was mildly frustrated they wouldn't be doing so. "He's based out of a set of well fortified community barracks, and the guards themselves are quite formidable," she told Val.

"Is there anyone we need to worry about?" Val asked as she swept the ruins of Hammer Bay with her eyes. Well, rubble anyway. The inhabitants had actually cleared a lot of wreckage away, and there were even signs of rebuilding away from the core of the new city.

"I made you a list," Rebecca said dryly, passing over a small personal data device.

Val frowned as she read the list of some of the superhumans who were now on the island. Coldblood 7, Free Spirit, Protocide, Firebrand, the second Beetle, Abominatrix, Dragonwing... "Another Erik the Red?" Val muttered.

"I think he's the fifth guy to take the name," Rebecca noted. "I attempted a psi-scan, but his helmet blocks telepathy."

"As expected," Val conceded. She read a few more names and noted, "Thornn? I thought she was depowered?"

"The cat-girl? Seems to have her full powers," Rebecca said. "I had heard her abilities were restored via genetic engineering."

"Right," Val acknowledged, remembering a report from Wolverine recently. Keeping track of all this stuff could be pretty confusing.

"There are several subjects off wanted lists for both State and Federal crimes," Rebecca said disapprovingly, "I assume we can't take action?"

"We have no extradition treaty with Genosha," Val shrugged as she gave her opinion as a government employee, "and even if one existed previously, we'd probably have to negotiate a new one with the current government."

"Understood," Rebecca agreed.

Hank McCoy, the Beast, had been talking with several technicians but when he saw them emerge from the jet he made his excuses and bounded over. "What did they say?" he asked, the blue furred man frowning thoughtfully.

"Not sure," Val answered frankly. "Reed thinks it's possible, Tony and Pym aren't sure. And none of them like Reese being here."

"Not unexpected," Hank acknowledged, "having a reality manipulator in the grip of a formerly nefarious individual is unlikely to make them ecstatic."

"Do you lay on the long words just to be annoying?" Rebecca had to ask.

Hank just smiled, "Indeed."

Val ignored that, knowing bantering with McCoy was a fool's game. "Where's Jack, my supposed bodyguard?" she asked dryly.

"Sparring with Clinton, actually. He wanted to make sure the man could still take care of himself," Hank said as they set out walking again.

"Hopefully he doesn't kill Jack," Rebecca said grimly, "I understand he nearly killed US Agent back in the day."

They didn't need to worry, it turned out. A few moments later they came across where Jack and Clinton were fighting. Jack, clearly having realized he wasn't going to out muscle the man, was out speeding him instead. With jack-rabbit like leaps and dodges he was keeping ahead of Clinton, and the bigger man was struggling to try and tag him.

"You are beginning to annoy me," Clinton noted flatly as Jack ducked and rolled away from a powerful punch.

"That's sort of the idea," Jack countered hopping a little in place as he faced the bigger man.

Clinton raised his hands, conceding the fight. "You're good, kid," he admitted, dressed in rough looking army fatigues, "if I ran into you in the field I'd just shoot you."

"Remind me to wear kevlar," Jack smiled back, still looking slightly uncomfortable in his business suit.

"Ladies," Clinton nodded a greeting, his expression not exactly friendly. He had clearly heard they were from the States and was less than pleased.

"Mr. McIntyre," Val offered her hand, "I'm Val Cooper, of the Office of National Emergency, as well as a member of the Comission for Superhuman Affairs."

"ONE, huh?" Clinton looked amused as he shook her hand firmly, "the government sure loves it's acronyms."

"That it does," Val agreed willingly, relieved he hadn't accidentally crushed her hand. "I'm here in Genosha investigating the current government here, and I felt I should check up on you on behalf of the United States."

Clinton snorted in amusement as he said, "You mean you want to take me back to get the super soldier serum in my veins."

"He's got you there," Jack noted with some amusement.

Rebecca gave him a glare while Hank hid a smile. "That, and making sure you are reasonably safe here," Hank added with a shrug.

Val glared at both Jack and Hank. Looking over at Clinton she conceded, "I won't buffalo you, the serum in your veins is very important. And as a representative of my government I have a responsibility to urge you to come home."

"Miz Cooper," Clinton drawled, "the last home I had was back in the nineteen fourtys. Since then I nearly died, got dumped in a freezer, got thawed by terrorists and have had to run for my life. None of that spells home to me."

"I regret what happened to you," Val said to him carefully, "but your recent troubles weren't our fault."

Clinton raised his eyebrows, "Oh, really? I was put in the freezer because of heart troubles. You know how long you had medicial surgery that could have helped me?" He scowled, "Nearly twenty years ago!"

Rebecca moved herself to protect Val, watching as Clinton opened and closed his hands in anger. Thankfully he got control of himself before Jack could do anything too reckless.

"Sorry," he sighed. Clinton smiled grimly, "The internet is a wonderful thing, I was able to pretty quickly figure out how long I needlessly stayed frozen."

Val nodded slightly, "I am sorry for what you went through, but your freezing was classified and no one in modern times knew what had happened to you."

"I don't buy that," Clinton said bluntly. "How the hell did a buncha crooks like Advanced Idea Mechanics find me, if it was that secret?"

Val decided not to mention that AIM only recruited geniuses and such. She strongly expected that Clinton didn't want to hear it. "It seems I shouldn't be bothering you," she said formally, "excuse me." She, Rebecca and Jack headed off, while the Beast went off on his own errands.

"Well, that was fun," Jack noted in a deadpan voice.

"I didn't expect him to be so angry," Val admitted ruefully.

"It's a bit of a false front," Rebecca noted calmly, "he's very homesick, and wishes he could return to his own era. However, he IS somewhat angry at how he's been treated."

"You really need to watch that random mind scanning," Jack said disapprovingly.

Val ignored that. "I'll need you to help me prepare a report on him for SHIELD and ONE," she said tiredly. "And let's hope no one back in the US panics about a angry super soldier in foreign hands..."

To be continued...

Notes: If I filled this fic with Avengers cameos and/or added yaoi with Thor and Loki, would I get more readers? Ha!


	7. Six

Rise of the Living Monolith

Six

"You're still not comfortable with our using Owen Reese, are you?" Horus asked as the young woman met with Callisto for a security briefing. Horus handled a lot of the more minor duties in running the island, to free up Osirus for the big stuff.

The two were meeting in her office, on one of the higher floors of the pyramid at the center of New Alexandria. While the exterior of the building resembled ancient Egypt, the interior was all modern construction. Orsirus might be a Eqypt-phile, but he wasn't a idiot. He needed modern facilities both for the island government and... other projects.

"To be honest, no," Callisto admitted, the eye patch wearing woman sitting calmly, her tentacle arms moving slowly around her.

Horus nodded slightly, "May I ask why?"

Callisto snorted. "He's massively mentally unstable and he has the potential power of a godling. What could possibly go wrong?" she asked dryly.

"Owen is a very wounded man," Horus said reproachfully.

"No, he's a screw up," Callisto answered her firmly, "and even with semi-cosmic powers he's still a screw up."

Horus sighed. Still, Callisto had a point: while Owen had possessed great power several times in his life, he seemed unable to use it to bring himself happiness. In fact arguably his power had made things worse for him.

Studying Callisto closely Horus had to ask, "I assume you have a emergency plan, in case he loses control?"

"I always have a emergency plan," Callisto said to her dryly. She shrugged as she explained, "At all times at least one of his guards is wearing a esper damper. If he goes out of control they're instructed to put a bullet in his brain."

Horus made a choking noise as she sat up in surprise. "Isn't that just a bit ruthless?" she demanded, looking appalled.

"He can kill us with a thought," Callisto told her flatly in return, "I think being ruthless is more than justified."

Horus shook her head, the younger woman sitting back. She wasn't going to win a argument on this with Callisto, and honestly she wasn't sure she should be arguing. Instead she changed the subject, "How's the security situation on the island?"

"Other than having the team of spies here, great," Callisto snorted. "We haven't been hit with the Magistrates lately, and my teams rooted out the smugglers that were trying to set up on the island."

"They're not spies," Horus noted.

"Don't tell me you are that innocent," Callisto said flatly. "That secretary is a SHIELD issue Psi-borg, Jack is a near superhuman and Cooper is relaying any data she gets to the states."

"How do you know she's a esper?" Horus had to ask.

"She tried scanning me," Callisto shrugged casually, "but I drove her off with standard mental shields."

"Ah," Horus frowned. She hadn't 'felt' a intrusion, but she wasn't as experienced as Callisto. It was possible she wouldn't spot it.

Callisto smiled faintly, "I'll give you a briefing on how to protect yourself, if you need it."

"Thanks," Horus smiled slightly. She recalled something else Callisto said, "We have smugglers? I didn't think the island had anything to smuggle."

"Not out, smuggling in," Callisto said. She smiled grimly, "Drugs, mostly. I also think they were looking to use us as a shipping point to transfer stuff to Madripoor and so on."

"Ugh," Horus winced. "Are any residents involved?"

"Unus and a few of his ilk," Callisto said disdainfully, "I've got them in lock up. We searched the camps for drugs, cleaned them out. Thankfully only a few arrivals were using."

Horus winced. Unus the Untouchable had been on the island under Magneto's rule, and had tried to set himself up as a gang leader after the Sentinel attacks. Sadly trying to 'muscle' Osirus had lead to a very severe defeat, and he had mostly laid low. However he still had ambitions, and he was willing to do whatever he could to gain more power.

"Would you please give me permission to boot him off the island?" Callisto asked, exasperated.

"Osirus gave him amnesty," Horus shook her head, "if we expel him without enough cause it will damage our credibility."

Callisto gave her a look, "He was trying to set up drug dealing on the island."

"I need something major," Horus sighed, "if we kick him off for anything less, it will make any ex-criminals worried we might boot them for former crimes."

Callisto grunted but nodded slightly. "I don't agree," she said, "letting him run around loose is a bad idea. But I'll accept it for now."

"Thank you," Horus said dryly.

"The new officers are integrating fairly well," Callisto added, "and some of the supposed non-combatants are doing well too. If we get hit by any of the 'big guns' we should at least be able to hold our own."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Leila Davis knew that it was a miracle she was alive as the black haired woman helped haul wreckage in her red and black exo-suit. The wife of a b-list villain named the Ringer she had mourned his death, then sought revenge as a criminal herself. She eventually signed on to the Thunderbolt program to clear her record, but in battle with Graviton she was nearly crushed to death.

'Thank god I had that teleporter hidden in my armor,' Leila thought as she set the wreckage down. The device got her out, and swapped her mass for a freezer of meat. That, and the whole crushing thing, meant she had gotten away clean, pretty much.

"Thanks, Leila," the young man smiled warmly as he checked over the debris. "Looks like good metal content, we'll likely add it to the smelter pile."

"Got it, thanks Max," Leila nodded to him.

"Oooh, being all nice to the worm?" the dominatrix costumed woman sneered as Leila walked by.

"Shut up, Grindhouse," Leila told her tiredly. The young woman had been on the boat with her on to the island, and annoyingly they had been put on the same work crew.

Grindhouse snorted softly. "We should be running this place, not being grunt labor," she complained.

"Not that I see you doing much labor," Leila noted calmly.

Grindhouse scowled at that. "Hey, I..."

"Remember the rules," Leila reminded her, "the island will take in anyone, but you don't work, you don't eat."

"Yeah, yeah," Grindhouse sighed as she got up and went to help carry a steel beam.

Leila sighed as she hefted another piece of metal and hauled it over too. Salvage teams worked all over the island, gathering metal and intact technology for later use. The island was buried under usable material, the problem was getting at it under all the rubble. Anyone with super strength (or armor like Leila) was put to work digging, even as more technically capable people assessed the salvage and sorted it. Honestly Leila would have rather been a sorter, but eh. You do what you must.

"Hey," Grizzly nodded as the bear-costumed man hefted a massive Sentinel chunk. He nearly dropped it, with several workers crying out in fear.

"Careful!" Leila warned. More calmly she added, "If it's damaged it might reactivate, and no one wants that."

"Yeah, sorry," he said as Grizzly more carefully carried the metal off.

Leila finished her shift, then tiredly collected her pay. The local money was mostly just used in the exchange for food, but it was 'stable' in that the food prices were locked by order of Osirus. There was no exchange rate for US or other funds, yet, but she suspected it would happen eventually. After ducking into her quarters in the recently finished barracks she changed clothes, then headed out looking for something to eat.

It was surprising how fast the tent city was evolving, along side the more modern New Alexandria. You could buy clothes, jewelry, even some small electronics. She had also been rather startled to realize they even had prostitution springing up, Men and women exchanging the local credits for sex. She supposed there was a reason it was called the world's oldest profession...

As Leila watched Grindhouse walking away she wondered if the girl would end up doing that for a living too. Not that it bothered her, exactly, but it seemed a bit of a waste. She seemed smart, even though she was a bit lazy.

"Hey!" Clinton McIntyre waved tiredly from where he was eating at the community kitchen. The big soldier had a warm smile, and Leila smiled back a bit hesitantly.

"I haven't seen you much since you arrived," Leila noted as she sat down across from him with the tray of food she had collected earlier.

"Been busy," Clinton admitted as he ate. "I joined the guards, and I understand you're working salvage?"

"As soon as I got my armor repaired," Leila agreed readily. A bit sheepishly she said, "After everything that happened to me and my husband, I don't want to fight anymore."

"What happened?" Clinton asked. "Unless it's not my business," he added quickly.

There was something kind of charming in Clinton's old fashioned style, Leila found. She sketched in the details of her and her husband's life, including their criminal pasts, his death and what eventually happened to her.

Clinton blinked at her. "Damn," he nuttered, shaking his head wryly. "Every time I think I've gotten caught up, I get another surprise. Is... uhm... every relationship these days involving battle armor and revenge?"

Leila blinked at him then burst out in giggles. "No, no," she said quickly, "we were pretty unusual, really."

"Thank goodness," Clinton smiled wryly.

It took Leila a moment, but she quickly realized that Clinton had deliberately misunderstood, to... well, cheer her up. 'What kind of soldier makes himself look like a idiot to cheer up a relative stranger?' she wondered.

Either way, she wanted to find out more.

To be continued...


	8. Seven

Rise of the Living Monolith

Seven

The Sentinels closing in on Genosha were older models. They had basic combat weaponry, palm blasters and flight, and of course were horrible strong and armored. But unlike later generations they were not really adaptive, nor did they have advanced problem solving capabilities. But even so, they were very very dangerous.

Perimeter alarms went off after they were two miles out from the island, cutting through the night and waking everyone from their sleep. Soldiers poured out of the barracks and the automated defenses activated, opening fire on the advancing robots.

Said alarms also roused everyone in the charter plane all of them spilling out half dressed to take in the chaos. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Rebecca Black breathed out, dressed in a robe over nakedness.

"Sentinels," Val Cooper sighed. She took a shot of them and sent it to her employees at ONE, asking for the make a model, even as she saw Beast and Jack hurrying out, the furry mutant in trunks while jack had his pajama pants on.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rebecca demanded as Hank started off towards where the Sentinels had touched down, palm blasters beginning to fire.

The Beast gave her a scornful look, "There is no way I will willingly stand by while innocent people are being attacked by Sentinels." Nearly growling he added, "It is simply not in my nature." With that the catlike mutant bounded off.

Jack hefted a canon he had taken from the jet's stores as he added, "What he said." And then he chased after Beast.

Val cursed as explosions echoed off in the distance. Her phone chimed as she checked the read out, "Series IV Sentinels, apparently. Dangerous, but not that deadly."

"Any idea who sent them?" Rebecca wondered as she guided Val back to the relative safety of the jet. If things went VERY bad she could try to fly them out of here.

"No idea," Val admitted, "there are so many early model Sentinels out on the gray market it's not funny."

"Get in the jet," Rebecca ordered, hearing the rumble of a Sentinel flying towards their location as she drew a hidden pistol.

"Not that it would help," Val said dryly, just as a powerful energy bolt erupted from nearby.

The beam of superheated plasma sliced right through the sentinel, sending two sections crashing to the roughly built road. The 'legs' section exploded, possibly from fuel tanks rupturing, but the upper portion started to drag itself along the road towards them.

"Gun?" Val asked tersely, planning to at least TRY to kill the thing before it reached them.

Then before they could do anything else a second bolt of plasma speared the thing, and it exploded in a burst of fire. Out of the shadows Osiris, the former Living Monolith, strode forward, his robes fluttering around him as he hurried to their sides.

"Are you all right?" Abdol demanded, looking both women over anxiously.

"We're fine," Rebecca noted warily.

"Why are you rescuing us?" Val demanded, "Your city is under attack!"

Abdol shrugged slightly, "And if you got killed under my protection, it might inspire a shooting war with the United States."

"Point taken," Rebecca noted mildly.

"Besides," he smiled slightly, "the defense of the city is in good hands."

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Coldblood Seven didn't want to fight. On the other hand. Erik also didn't want to die, so as soon as he saw the Sentinel's coming over the horizon he got moving. He activated the alarms as he ran to a gunnery turret, one of several set up around the rough camp.

As the guards and superhumans in the camps raced out to fight, he lined up the canon and fired, blasting one of a dozen Sentinels, sending it weaving off course. He lined up another shot and winged another one, even as they began to land on the shoreline. The next few blasts had to be aimed carefully as people reached the Sentinels and began to attack, then he finally abandoned the heavy gun.

Picking up a rifle Coldblood hurried out, firing as he watched others rush into battle.

Sister Joy was hustling civilians away from the battle, the technological woman moving a bit jerkily. Her powers were no longer functional, and her technology interfaced poorly with weapons. So instead, she was doing her best to get people clear.

"Hurry," Joy urged Free Spirit.

"We should be helping," Free Spirit complained.

"We'd just get in the way," Joy said as she picked up a deformed mutant child. "Help me get the children away."

"Right," the young woman agreed.

Unus the Untouchable really didn't care much for his fellow islanders. In fact, he only really saw them as tools or profit waiting to happen. But Sentinels were a threat to him, too, so he needed to act. The red clad man rushed forward...

"Look out!" Clinton yelled a warning, but it was too late. One of the Sentinel;s stepped on Unus apparently crushing him.

"Heh," Callisto smirked.

"What's so funny?" Clinton demanded.

"Wait for it," Callisto advised him just as the Sentinel seemed to stagger.

Unus was alive! The black haired man shoved his forcefield up, sending the Sentinel crashing backwards. "Kill it while it's down!" he yelled, furious.

Several residents did just that, tearing into the machine. Erik the Red posed dramatically as the masked man declared, "Another glorious victory!"

"There's more coming," Leila barked, the woman in her red exo-suit hefting a large chunk of debris and pitching it at a Sentinel.

The Beast bounded through the ruins, followed closely by Jack as they swiftly assessed the battlefield. "You know more about fighting Sentinels than I do," Jack called, "take the lead, furball,"

"Indubitably," Beast agreed as they charged into the battle.

Horus soared above the battle, cosmic energy crackling around her hands. Since Osiris' return her powers had changed, but she could still fly, exhibit super strength an d durability, and throw power bolts. Her only limit was based on how much energy she could store before using.

"About time you got here!" Callisto yelled as she whizzed by.

"I was killing a Sentinel on the other side of the island," Horus shot back before she zipped in and blasted a Sentinel apart.

Jack hurried between the legs of a lumbering Sentinel, a length of industrial cable spooling out behind him. "This is not going to work," he bitched while wishing he still had his stun disks. Or hell, some armored clothes!

"You'd be surprised," Beast grinned as he tacked the Sentinel, sending it tripping over the cable and being jumped on by all the non-fliers.

"Come on you bastard!" Grindhouse yelled as she tried to force a Sentinel off it's feet. Sadly, while she was string she wasn't THAT strong. Worse, she got it's attention.

"Target acquired. Non-mutant superhuman." the Sentinel rumbled, "Response selected."

"Look out!" Leila yelled as the thing's palm blaster triggered. Grindhouse had no time to react, the beam scything down to vaporize the young woman.

"Target, neutralized," the Sentinel noted.

"Damn it!" Coldblood yelled as they charged the Sentinel. It wasn't that he liked Grindhouse.. hell, he didn't think ANYONE had liked the prickly young woman. But she was one of them, and these things would pay for killing her.

The superstrong members, together, brought the Sentinel down, then swarmed it with dozens of fighters. The other Sentinels were suffering similar fates, thought their palm blasters were also taking down men and women a few at a time.

As the final few Sentinels fought to survive, plasma bolts blasted another into nothingness. Osiris strode out from the junk yard, singed a bit and slightly battered, then blasted another Sentinel into wreckage.

Val Cooper, hefting a energy rifle, and Rebecca Black both followed, each looking almost as battered, The blond looked around and puffed out a sigh, "Looks like they survived the attack."

"What took you?" Callisto asked curiously.

"There were a few other Sentinels who attacked the pyramid," Rebecca noted flatly, "I assume in a attempt at Molecule Man."

"Owen," Horus corrected. She looked at them in concern, "Everyone all right?"

"We managed to stop them, but it was a close thing," Osiris admitted, "they were a more recent grade of Sentinel, with adaptive armor."

"One Osiris' energy bolts started bouncing off Rebecca and I shot them, buying him enough time to get in close and tear them apart," Val said tiredly.

"Why did you help, exactly?" Clinton had to ask.

Rebecca had been tempted to ask that very question, actually.

Val grunted. "It wouldn't exactly serve US interests having Owen Reese kidnapped or killed," she said dryly. She shrugged as she added, "And we owed Osiris for the rescue."

There was a moment's quiet as Jack and Beast returned to Val's side, as she looked over the battlefield. Whatever else happened, Genosha had just become a tougher nut to crack. Looking out at the mutants and humans, she could practically see a growing sense of camaraderie between them. They had fought and died side by side, and won...

To be continued...


	9. Eight

Rise of the Living Monolith

Eight

Hank McCoy scowled as the jet soared away from Genosha, heading back to the states. "I rather wish we could have stayed longer," the Beast noted.

Val Cooper shrugged slightly, the two sitting in the main compartment. Jack Monroe had collapsed, apparently exhausted from the Sentinel fight. Rebecca Black was up in the cockpit, the SHIELD agent writing up her report as well as keeping an eye on the auto-pilot.

"Sorry, Hank," and Val honestly did sound apologetic, "but Cap finally surrendered to the Registration forces. I need to be back in the States, if only for the potential fallout."

"Fallout?" Beast asked curiously, though he probably knew what she meant.

"Cap's actions revealed the Negative Zone Prison, the public may not be happy with that," Val noted. "As well, I really doubt Cap is done... he'll continue the fight in the courts at least."

"Unless you just dump him in prison with no trial," Hank noted dryly.

"I thought the X-men had chosen not to pick sides?" Val sighed tiredly.

"Officially we have not," Hank conceded, "but as a private citizen I can express my dismay at the erosion of personal freedoms this represents."

Val sighed, knowing she was not going to win that argument. "I was wondering," she changed the subject, "Did you figure out how the Monolith changed so much?"

Hank looked unimpressed by her changing the subject, but went along. "I talked with him about it," he admitted, "Abdol claims that the changes were a result of his temporary physical merger with Apocolypse."

"Is that possible?" Val asked, curiously.

"Possible," Hank shrugged, "secondary mutations can be triggered by various factors. I took a skin sample, I hope that studying his cells will show me what happened.

"Hopefully," Val agreed. What she was really hoping was that Hank could figure out the man's weaknesses too.. while Abdol had less raw power, he appeared much harder to defeat now.

"And yes, if I find out a weakness I'll pass it on," Hank sighed, anticipating, "we X-Men have fought him enough times to be wary."

"Thank you," Val nodded.

Meanwhile, up in the cockpit, Rebecca Black was writing up her report for SHIELD. The virtual screen her phone generated was invisible to the naked eye, and her fingers danced as she swiftly typed up the status updates.

Living Monolith, aka Osirus, status: potential hostile. Osirus has effectively taken over Genosha, as well as gaining the loyalty of the surviving mutates. He has a long history of hostilities with the United States, and his cult of the Pharoh has commited terrorist acts against US interests. I suggest monitoring Genosha, with plans made to possibly intervene.

Owen Reese, aka Molecule Man, status: potential hostile, unstable. Molecule Man has repeatedly attacked superhumans, as well as suffering various degrees of mental illness. Worse, Osirus plots to use his powers on a broad scale. I would reluctantly suggest sanctioning Owen, however utmost caution must be taken. A botched attempt could trigger him to use his powers in a disasterous fashion

Clinton McIntyre, former US Army, supersoldier program. Status: stable. I must reluctantly report I was unable to convince McIntyre to return to the United States, either by argument or psychic compulsion. Nor was I able to secure a blood sample to attempt to extract super soldier serum. His current security status is stable, as he has endeared himself to the soldiers in Genosha. However, this also makes any plans to remove him from the island extremely difficult.

Enclosed is a list of priority SHIELD targets currently on the island. It is, feankly, distressingly long. Of particular note are several presumed dead subjects, including Leila Davis and Erik the Red. I would suggest embedding at least one agent on the island, to monitor the situation.

Rebecca reviewed the file, nodded thoughtfully, then sent it to her boss. Hopefully something would come of it, but she had her doubts.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Current Director of SHIELD Tony Stark nearly choked on his coffee as he reviewed the report. He had gotten it only seconds after it was sent, having been keeping a general eye on the Genosha situation. He shook his head, then glared at his second in command.

"Not happy?" Maria Hill asked mildly. She had, up until days ago, been head of SHIELD herself until the President decided to put Stark in charge. That was something she had mixed feelings about, to say the least.

"She wants us to assassinate Owen Reese?" Tony shook his head.

"She's offering options for her superiors," Maria corrected calmly. "And how often has he been stripped of his powers or neutralized before coming back?" she asked pointedly.

"I...,: Tony started, then made a face. Yes, it had happened several times over the years. "But sanctioning him? Really?" he asked.

"I think it would have to be considered as a last resort," Maria answered levelly. She sighed, "I wish we had gotten Clinton McIntyre to come back."

"Why? We have a Captain America," Tony sighed.

"I was thinking of firing Steve Rogers and putting Clinton in the job," Maria said dryly, "since Steve is in jail."

Tony frowned at her, but didn't say anything. Despite everything that happened, the whole 'civil war' he still considered Steve a friend. Instead he changed the subject, "Do you have a agent you'd suggest putting in under cover?"

"You think we should?" Maria asked. Mind you, she agreed, but she wanted to know his reasons to do so.

"Osirus may have turned over a new leaf," Tony shrugged, "but can we really trust that?" He looked thoughtful, "Last time I saw him in person he became a giant and tried to crush Manhattan."

"I was there too," Maria conceded.

"Anyway," Tony shrugged, "do we have someone who could realistically be put into Genosja, and they won't realize it's a agent?"

"The new Scorpion has been under cover as a villainess for awhile," Maria mused. "While her focus has been on AIM, she might be willing to help."

"Aimed at AIM," Tony snickered.

Maria gave him a look. "How long have you been awake, sir?" she asked pointedly.

"It has been a couple of days," Tony admitted, "things have been hectic. If you think the new Scorpion can do it, go ahead."

"Yes sir," Maria nodded. She smiled, "And get some rest, sir... we don't need a punch drunk man running SHIELD."

"Yes, Mother," Tony drawled mockingly as he left.

Maria visibly shuddered at THAT thought. With that done she fired up her computer... she needed to track down Scorpion and get her briefed...

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Val Cooper was working on her report to her superiors. Hank had left in a huff, leaving her in peace to work. Her report, unlike Rebecca's, would go to her political masters, and had to be slanted accordingly. Thankfully she wouldn't have to lie...

Genosha is currently stable, government wise. Abdol is widely accepted as leader, despite his past. (See biography re: Living Monolith, attached.) Economically, Genosha can be considered a third world country, but that is quickly changing. Salvage of wrecked technology provides both industrial resources and intact equipment, and using this they are recovering quickly.

I would strongly urge the United States to get in on the ground floor with the new regime in Genosha. Open negotiations for trade, supply humanitarian aide, and so on. Not only will this provide us with opportunities, it will give us a wedge to work the Superhuman Registration angle.

To be blunt: Genosha sheltering non-registry superhumans is not only politically dangerous, it threatens out national security. These superhumans are a power base the United States can ill afford to lose, especially in the aftermath of the Decimation effect. Accumulating superhumans could eventually put Genosha in the position of being a first class power.

Val reread the last line, considering editing it. Though honestly, with Owen Reese there, it could be argued Genosha already was a first class power.

Rebecca came in from the cockpit, the young woman nodding respectfully. "Ma'am," she said, "everything all right?"

"Yeah, just working on my report," Val admitted.

Rebecca went through to the crew compartment, then after a few moments came back in, a... oddly blank look on her face.

"What?" Val asked.

"Where did Jack say he was, after he got aboard before we left Genosha?" Rebecca asked flatly.

Val was wondering what was up with the woman. "He was exhausted from the Sentinel fight, was catching some z's."

"He's not there, and I can't pick up his thoughts anywhere on the plane," Rebecca revealed to her ruefully.

It took Val a moment to figure it out. "Son of a BITCH!" she yelped.

Meanwhile, back on Genosha Jack Monroe raised his hands and smiled at the soldiers. "Take me to your leader," he grinned, adding, "I've ALWAYS wanted to say that."

To be continued...


	10. Nine

Rise of the Living Monolith

Nine

The hastily organized meeting was in the central pyramid, with head of security Callisto, Horus and Osirus himself. Frankly, Callisto wasn't thrilled about having the boss there, but even she could concede that there wasn't much Jack could do to hurt him. Jack Munroe himself was in handcuffs, sitting across the table from them as he gave his story.

"Wait a minute..." Callisto leaned forward intently as she asked, "they FORCED you to work for them?"

Jack smiled ruefully as he answered, "It's not QUITE that clear cut, but yeah... SHIELD saved my life from a degenerative neural condition, as well as being shot. A condition of my treatment was that I work for them."

Horus looked sympathetic, well aware that a attractive young woman could sway men. "You poor thing," she said.

Osirus scowled, deliberately playing the 'bad cop' as he forcefully demanded, "And how can we trust you, even assuming your story is true? You've already turned your coat once."

"I'm not expecting you to," Jack answered calmly, surprising two of them.

Callisto, on the other hand, was nodding thoughtfully. "We keep you under watch until you prove your loyalty," she said.

"You can even put a ankle monitor or something on me," Jack shrugged.

"Or a choke chain," Callisto said dryly.

"Woof woof," Jack barked doggisly.

Horus had to laugh at that impersonation. Recovering quickly she looked at Osirus and asked, "What do you think, sir?"

Osirus studied Jack a moment. "I know what it is like, being forced to serve against your will," he conceded. "Stay, but remember, we will be watching you."

"Thank you," Jack nodded.

"Horus, call up Sister Joy, she can figure out what to do with him," Osirus nodded.

"Yes sir," the young woman nodded, and in a few minutes Jack was lead off.

"He's a plant," Callisto said flatly once Jack was gone.

"Not necessarily," Horus offered, "have you read his record?"

"Skimmed it," Callisto admitted.

"He was the Bucky of a 1950's Captain America, before both went insane due to a unstable super soldier serum," Osirus mused, "he was revived in modern times and Captain America gave him the Nomad identity. However, he's been screwed around several times by government agencies, including brainwashing."

Horus looked at him in surprise, "How did you...?"

Osirus shrugged, "Know thy enemy."

Callisto grunted thoughtfully. "Could still be a plant," she noted, "but for now, we just keep an eye on him?"

"I agree," Osirus said, "though with his skill set we'll probably have to put him in the army." He nodded to Callisto, "Or security."

"PLEASE no," Callisto visibly shuddered.

Horus snickered at that. "We could pair him with McIntyre," she noted.

"Our own Captain America and Bucky?" Osirus looked both thoughtful and amused. "It might be something to consider."

"Bad, BAD idea," Callisto sighed. Changing the subject she said, "Can I throw Unus off the island, yet?"

"You do realize he's a hero of the recent Sentinel attack?" Horus asked wryly.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Callisto groaned.

Osirus sighed, "He's parlayed his near death at the Sentinel's hands into a great, heroic victory for Genosha."

"He got STEPPED ON," Callisto sighed, exasperated.

"I think you sometimes underestimate the gullibility of people," Horus noted.

Callisto just growled.

Osirus shrugged a bit tiredly. "The situation is that we need to catch Unus red handed, or his public image will just... shrug it off, pretty much."

"He's a drug dealing scumbag," Callisto ground out.

"But he's a popular drug dealing scumbag," Osirus pointed out.

"All right, all right," Callisto dropped it. She got up with a sigh, "I'll get the watchers for our new Nomad organized..."

"Have fun," Osirus smiled wryly.

"How do you think our American friends will react, assuming his defection is legitimate?" Horus had to ask.

"Not well...," Osirus smirked.

0**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"Damn it, I LIKED him," Val cooper ranted as she paced her office in Washington DC.

Jamie Cassidy nodded, the young redhead and secret mutant sympathizer taking notes. "Do you want that in the notes?" she asked.

"No," Val scowled. She shook her head, "How the hell did STARK of all people end up as head of SHIELD?"

"The President confirmed it, ma'am," Jamie offered. Quietly she added, "Most insiders agree it was with the aide and support of Commander Hill as well."

Val grunted softly. Dealing with Tony was going to be a pain, especially with his tendencies to be a skirt chaser. She did not want him pawing her ass.

Jamie's tablet computer pinged, and she tapped the screen. "The photos from the mission are here," she said, "it'll transfer them to your desk top."

"Thanks," Val sighed. "We'll pepper them through the report, including the shots we got of Osirus blasting that Sentinel."

"We are still waiting for reports from Doctor McCoy and the SHIELD agent," Jamie reminded her like a good minion should.

"I'm not expecting one from Hank," Val admitted, "he was there just as the X-Men's representative. And I strongly expect Agent Black with be reporting directly to SHIELD."

"Understood," Jamie agreed.

The phone rang and Val checked it, groaning. "I have to take this," she told Jamie as she picked it up. "Val Cooper, this is a unsecured line," she said by rote.

"How the HELL did you lose Monroe?" the familiar voice snarled.

"Why, hello Henry, good to hear from you," Val sighed as she addressed Henry Gyrich, a fellow government officer and a member of the Commission of Superhuman Affairs, which she was also on.

"Well?" Gyrich demanded, refusing to be diverted.

"I was under the impression he was a willing agent," Val answered calmly before adding, "And I was not the one who mind controlled him and tried to use him to kill superhumans."

Rather stiffly Gyrich answered, "I was under mind control at the time."

"SURE you were," Val said, very aware of his long history of despising superheroes and such. Calmly she added, "Monroe's defection won't hurt, much. He hasn't any classified data, and the serum in his blood is inert."

Gyrich grunted. "What do you think the Genoshians will do with him?" he had to ask.

"Well, my HOPE will be that they decide his defection is fake and lock him up," Val sighed, "but probably they'll put him to work."

Gyrich just hung up on her, and Val sighed as she put the phone back in it's cradle.

Jamie looked at her sympathetically. "Would you like me to get you a coffee or something?" she politely offered.

"What I'd LIKE is a drink, but it's too damn early," Val sighed and got back to work.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"The LIVING MONOLITH is running Genosha?" Cyclops repeated, looking appalled.

"Yes dear, try to keep up," Emma Frost noted to her boyfriend wryly. She addressed Hank, "And you think he's reformed to some extent?"

"SOMEWHAT, yes," Hank nodded a bit tiredly. They had only gotten back to the US that day, and he wanted to sleep in his own bed.

"Sorry," Cyclops smiled slightly, "we just... kind of lost track of him after he was possessed by Apocalypse then died. We thought."

"Hmm," Hank nodded. "Well, he appears alive and well, and arguably more powerful."

"He no longer size changes, but seems to still retain his strength and energy powers," Emma noted from Hank's report.

"Yes, tho I doubt he can attain the former upper levels he had," Hank nodded.

"Should we go after him?" Cyclops had to ask.

"For what?" Hank shrugged. "We could POSSIBLY try him for his pass actions, but..."

"Nor do we have authority over Genosha," Emma said before dryly adding, "tho admittedly that hasn't stopped us before."

Cyclops ignored that. "We'll just have to wait and see," he concluded, "and hope this leopard really has changed his spots."

To be continued...


End file.
